Radiator tank



June 7, 1927. 1,631,711

E. D. TREANOR I RADIATOR TANK Filed Sept. 8. 1921 Inventor EdwardD.T'r-ean on H is Attor-n ey.

Patented June 7, 1927.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

, EDWARD D. TREANOR, OF PITTSFIELD, MASSACH USETTS, ASSIGNOR T GENERALELEC- TRIC COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

RADIATOR TANK.

Application filed September 8, 1921. Serial No. 499,358.

My invention relates to heat radiating tanks or containers adapted tocontain a quantity of oil in which certain types of electrical apparatusare submerged for cooling purposes, the tank being constructed andarranged so as to permit the oil to circulate in such manner as toensure that the rise of temperature of the apparatus during operatingperiods will not exceed a safe limit.

More particularly ,this invention has to do with the provision of a tankor container with a large radiating surface exposed to the surroundingatmosphere so that the heat generated by the electrical apparatus duringits operation may be absorbed by the oil and dissipated efficiently, theconstruction of the tank being such that the oil may circulate freely totransfer the heat from the appararatus to the heat radiating portions ofthe tank.

My invention is particularly applicable to transformer tanks asillustrated in the accompanying drawing, one of the heat radiatingelements being shown with a small portion broken away to show an oilopening between the space within this radiating element and the interiorof the tank.

In the embodiment of the invention shown in the drawing, the transformertank in cludes a body 1 wlth a simple cylindrical shaped wall and aplurality of radiating elements 2 welded to the outer face of this wall.These radiating elements 2 have the form of channels approximatelyV-shaped in cross section and closed at their upper and'lower ends.These radiating channels 2 are placed in vertical positions with theiropen faces against the outer surface of the body 1 of the tank and thechannels and body of the tank are then welded firmly together at thewelded joints 3.

Openings or perforations are formed by punching, drilling, or otherwiseperforating the wall of the tank body to provide oil passages betweenthe interior of the tank and the spaces within the channels. Theseopenings may be of any desired size or contour. except as limited by thesize and shape of the faces of the channels surrounding these openings.One of the channels 2 is shown in thedrawing brokenaway to reveal an oilpassage or opening 4'. which is substan- .tially circular in shape andlocated to permit passage of oil between the upper portion of theinterior of the tank and the upper end of the space within the channel.Another opening 5 near the bottompf the channel permits the oil to passback again into the interior of thetank near the bottom thereof.

As is well known to those familiar with the operation of electricalapparatus, a transformer generates more or less heat while in operationand this heat must be dissipated at a rate sufficiently great to preventoverheating and consequent injury in the transformer. In a tankconstructed in accordance with the present invention, the oilsurrounding the submerged transformer absorbs the heat generated bythetransformer and by expansion is caused to rise toward the top of thetank, being replaced by cool oil entering the body of the tank from thechannels 2 through the passages 5 near the lower ends of the channels.The heated oil above the transformer leaves the upper portion of thebody of the tank through the passages 4i into the upper portions of thespaces within the channels 2, the path of the oil oeing thus completed.The heated oil now in the channels is cooled by radiation from the outerfaces of the channels which are exposed to the surrounding atmosphere.It is obvious that the rate at which heat is radiated from the channelsmay be increased or diminished as desired by increasing or diminishingthe dimensions of the channels so as to expose the proper amount ofradiating surfaceto the surrounding atmosphere.

The invention is, of particular advantage in connection with oilimmersed transformers such as pole type or subway distributiontransformers which are operated with only periodical inspection. In suchcases, there may be a considerable drop in the level of the oil due toevaporation before the loss of oil is discovered and the evaporated oilreplaced. It is often desirable to anticipate a possible loss of oil inthis way' as great as fifteen per cent of its total original volume. Aconsiderable advantageof the invention is that the effectiveness of theincreased heat radiating surface provided by the heat radiating channels2 is reduced only very slightly even should the oil level drop below theupper communicating passages 4. In this event, the circulation of oilthrough the channels 2 is of course stopped, but there is still anefficient heat conducting path from the oil within the casing 1 cure byLetters Patent of the United States 1. A container for oil immersedelectrical apparatus, said container including a metal body portion itha plurality of openings in its" Wall,- and a hollow; channel-shapedmember with its edge portion Welded to" the outer surface of said Wallaround said open ings;

2. A- container for oil immersed electrical apparatus, said containerincluding-a metal body portion with a plurality of openings in itswaill,and a hollow radiatingmeniber open at onesi'de to forin an eagmhe edgeportion of the radiatingineinber' being Welded to the outer surface ofsaid Wall around said openings in the Wall.

3. A container for oil'immersedel'ectrical apparatus, said containerincluding a metal body portion, and a hollow radiating member With anopening at one side to form an 'eidge theedge portion of the radiatingmember being Welded to the outer surface of the body portion ofthecontainer, and the contain'en Wallbeing perforated to permit a liquidto pass between the interior of the container and the interior of theradiating mei'nbe'r through V the opening in its side 111* witnesswhereof, I have hereunto set my hand this: 6th day of Sept. 1921'.

EDWARD D; TREANOR;

